The dramatic conclusion to a Momentum One Day Cup match between the Nashua Cape Cobras and the Chevrolet Warriors would have left some Cobras fans complaining about the nerve-wracking nature of the four-wicket win by the hosts.

The Cobras beat the Warriors by four wickets at Boland Park in Paarl on Sunday to power the Cape franchise to 29 points on the log after nine games, eight points ahead of the hard-chasing Hennops River team, The Unlimited Titans. The Cobras are within touching distance of a home-final. Yet, they will have to win their final league match against the Sunfoil Dolphins at the Newlands cricket ground on Friday to prevent The Unlimited Titans from sneaking up on them and replacing them as hosts of a home final. Justin Kemp, one of the batting heroes in the 229 for six scored by the Cobras off 49.5 overs, revealed on Monday that he and his skipper, Robin Peterson, kept their nerve in the final over and decided on rotating the strike rather than attempting one miracle shot to conclude the contest. “Rusty Theron is a good death bowler, but Robin and Iknew the boundaries are quite big so if you hit it in the direction of the boundary and run, you can easily get two,” Kemp said. The middle-order batsman finished with an unbeaten 28 off 26 balls, while Peterson scored five to get the Cobras over the line. Kemp (one for 33 in ten overs) and Rory Kleinveldt (one for 34 in ten overs) assisted the captain (Peterson captured two for 44 and has already captured 16 wickets in the competition) in restricting the visitors to 228 for eight. Kemp, a former national all-rounder, was critical of the performance by the Cobras at Paarl. “Our fielding yesterday was quite poor, and our bowling at the start was also poor. “It is encouraging that we are winning games although we are not playing at our best,” he added. Kemp admitted that the absence of some of their middle-order stars, Justin Ontong and Dane Vilas, who both have to fulfil South Africa A-commitments, starved them of experience which has affected their performances. Yet, the Cobras are still handsomely placed. Andrew Puttick received another man-of-the-match-award for his 86 off 125 balls, including eight fours. Puttick has struck 539 runs in the competition at an average of 75.38 and has been a model of consistency. He has contributed a century and six half-century and is an early candidate as domestic 50-over player of the season. Asked about the danger posted by The Unlimited Titans in possibly overtaking the Cobras, Kemp said the Cape franchise is afraid of nobody. “We are yet to play our best cricket, and we have discussed our performances at length on Sunday. We know we have to improve substantially over the course of the next two weeks,” Kemp added.